HVC's Ministries

Connecting at a church is not about spiritual formation through busyness. Hunt Valley Church is structured to help you first see Jesus, then understand how much you're loved by him, so that you want to become His apprentice.

Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. … each one heard [the disciples] speaking in his own language. (Acts 2:5-6, NIV)

Pentecost is the 50th day after Jesus’ resurrection (this year it was May 10), the day when the “first-fruits” of the harvest were brought in. It was the day for “first-fruits” of Jesus’ spiritual harvest as well … a harvest which continues to this day. The fact that everyone heard the message in their own language signified a reversal of Babel, a going out of the gospel and a coming together of the human race under the kingship of the Christ.

One of the biggest blocks of unreached people in the world are Muslims. Reaching them has been particularly hard because the intertwining of Muslim religion and culture makes it difficult to gain access to them in any large numbers, and it is extremely costly socially to abandon Muslim faith in a Muslim culture.

But now, there are millions of them who are displaced … in foreign cultures … and spiritually curious and hungry. Ministry to these refugees is not only an act of compassion for material needs, but also for spiritual ones. There has never been a greater opportunity to reach this significant sector of the world’s population.

In 1997, there were 34 million displaced people in the world. Today it is 66 million, nearly twice that! If, as we have been learning in our recent couple of message series, Jesus is truly Lord and directing the course of history, then we must not let media and politics determine how we look at these people. We must see them through Christ’s eyes and recognize a huge opportunity for carrying out Jesus’ Last Command to disciple all the people groups in the world.

We are blessed to be in close proximity to World Relief, headquartered in Baltimore and one of the best authorities in the world on how to minister to refugees. In Jordan, slightly smaller than Indiana, 1/3 of the people are refugees, and they come from 41 different countries. It just so happens that Jordan is accessible to Christian ministry and, therefore, the gateway to a significant part of the world. World Relief has been very successful in doing community development work in Africa and Asia, but the different cultural context in the Mideast requires a lot of study and laying of a foundation for future work. The goal is not just temporary relief, but sustainable transformation. It is that pioneering, path-finding work that HVC is helping sponsor by our offering this Sunday. We have committed $90,000 over three years and we would love to provide 1/3 of that this year.

In addition, we have a short term mission team going to work with a church in the Boston area. Every year we provide an opportunity for a special offering to help support these various missional initiatives. Not all of us can go, but all of us can have a part in supporting those who do.

Would you pray and make a special offering this weekend, above and beyond your regular giving? Jesus promises that our gifts will not go unnoticed (Matt. 6:4, Luke 6:38) by the One who holds the nations dear to His heart.